


Forever Love

by celine (kaihun)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Childhood friends to strangers to lovers, Courting Rituals, Drama & Romance, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:21:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29304141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaihun/pseuds/celine
Summary: On the day of Prince Sehun's coming of age ceremony, the one man he hoped to see but never expected to attend was Crown Prince Jongin of Elyxion, who he lost contact with six years ago.Sehun doubted the prince still remembered the promise they made as children.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Oh Sehun
Comments: 9
Kudos: 123
Collections: monthlysekai's Royal Treatment





	Forever Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bpearl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bpearl/gifts).



> Written for monthlysekai's Challenge #4 — Treating them like a royalty
> 
> Sehun goes through the spectrum of forever love sad happy, hence the title.
> 
> Dedicated to Nath who encouraged me to join this round. I've never written royal/historical au before so I apologize for any anachronistic discrepancies!
> 
> Hope you like it♡

♔♔♔

At the age of seven, Sehun, second prince of Zephyr, proposed to his closest friend, Jongin, crown prince of Elyxion, under the oldest tree in the courtyard where they often spent their days. 

Although Jongin was born a mere three months earlier in January, he was considered a year older as per tradition of both their kingdoms. As crown prince, Jongin regularly toured the surrounding kingdoms to learn different cultures and build rapport, but he most frequently visited Zephyr, enough to convince the young prince it was Jongin's favorite of the allied kingdoms. It was the highlight of Sehun's day whenever he was permitted to end his studies early to meet with the Elyxion prince.

The proposal idea was inspired after Haewon, Sehun's older brother and heir to the throne, teased Sehun as elder brothers always did, telling him that one day he'd have to marry a complete stranger and leave the kingdom forever. The thought frightened Sehun terribly, and he immediately went to his mother to question if this was true.

"One day, when you're a grown man, you'll meet someone who makes you happy, and you'll want to spend the rest of your life with them. Yes, depending on their rank, you might one day have to leave the kingdom to live with your betrothed. But there's also a chance you might stay and live in Zephyr."

"But I don't want to leave you ever!"

"Oh Sehun." His mother smiled gently. "You'll be married to someone you love more than me!" She laughed at Sehun shaking his head, denying that possibility. "It's true. But do not fret, my son. You may come visit your father and I whenever you'd like."

Slightly comforted by that knowledge, Sehun nodded quietly, though he remained troubled about his future betrothed. 

Why did he have to wait until he was a grown man to marry some stranger he didn't know? He already had his best friend Jongin, who made him happy whenever he visited and brought him knickknacks and tasty treats from Elyxion. Jongin liked to tell him weird jokes that he didn't always understand but they made Sehun laugh anyway. Couldn't the two of them be married?

After additional research in the royal library, Sehun enlisted the help of his friend Bohyun, the stable boy, to procure a pair of rings from the commoner markets. Royal jewels too heavily guarded for Sehun to take, and he did not want to anger his father. But the bronze rings Bohyun bought for him (in exchange for a sweetcake meant for Sehun's dessert after his midday meal) proved to be a more than suitable gift for the occasion, perhaps even better than one Sehun could find in the royal collection. The rings were a simple band of bronze, engraved with a fancy infinity symbol he hoped Jongin would find quite quaint. The thought that he'd get to play with Jongin forever once they got married was wonderful, and he was sure Jongin would feel the same.

The prince said yes as soon as Sehun asked, and although the rings were too large for them to wear, Jongin promised he'd cherish his forever.

  
♔♔♔

Twelve years later marked Sehun's coming of age ceremony. 

At the age of nineteen Sehun was to be officially courted, though he had no interest in any of the suitors who expressed their affections for him.

The only man he was ever interested in was Prince Jongin, who likely had forgotten all about him. They lost contact after the prince had stopped visiting Zephyr the year before Sehun turned thirteen. According to Sehun's father, Jongin had gotten busier with his studies, and was no longer able to visit as often as before. But that didn't explain why the prince had only returned a few of the letters Sehun had penned, until he eventually stopped sending them.

Still, Sehun held onto a sliver of hope that Jongin remembered him, even a tiny bit, and would perhaps attend his ceremony to wish him well.

Maybe then he could move on, once he saw the prince's face again. It would be the closure Sehun needed for the foolish hope he held in his heart, hope spun from the tendrils of dreams he had on endless nights that Jongin pined for him in return.

Even as children Sehun had loved him, though he had not understood how deeply until he grew older, long after Jongin had already moved on from their childhood games. Part of him still remembered those first feelings of hurt and abandonment when Jongin stopped visiting, but with age and maturity he understood that Jongin had a unique responsibility to his kingdom as sole heir to the throne. As secondborn, Sehun was well-aware of the extra duties required of Haewon. Compared to his elder brother, his parents frequently babied him while growing up. Knowing that meant it didn't feel fair to blame Jongin for the heavy burden he had to carry as crown prince. Visiting Sehun would stop taking precedence the older Jongin got. His schedule was filled to the brim with appointments, and it was only a matter of time before their playtime became a distant memory.

As time passed, the ring remained on Sehun's person at every hour of the day, sitting in his pocket as a lucky charm. Now the ring perfectly fit around his finger. Whenever he felt lonely or sad, he would take it out of his pocket to wear, smiling as he examined it in the light, and he developed a habit of rolling the band around his finger for idle comfort.

On this important day celebrating his nineteenth year, Sehun was filled with nerves more than ever before. He would rely on the comforting ring in his pocket to get him through the day's proceedings, which were sure to tire him completely before nightfall. 

He dared not put it on in public, as it wouldn't be appropriate for a man just coming of age to have already been spoken for. No one else but Jongin and Bohyun knew about the rings. Sehun hadn't even told his mother. At first because it felt exciting to have a secret, and then he became invested in keeping it so, even long after the effort proved useless.

His personal attendant laid out his set of garments to wear for the night: a cobalt blue tunic embellished with silver trimmings and lace ruffles, navy leggings, and white boots that laced up to his knees. The maids fussed with his hair and makeup, and by the time he was ready to descend the grand staircase, Sehun was frankly quite exhausted.

There was a sea of people waiting for him in the Great Hall, decorated lavishly for Sehun's ceremony with magnificent flower displays. The royal musicians were playing an upbeat, melodic tune.

Feeling overwhelmed and a headache coming on, Sehun tried to politely avoid eye contact as much he possible. He wasn't in the mood to chitchat with every single person attempting to grab his attention. Hopefully a simple nod here, a smile and a wave there, was enough of a greeting for the less familiar faces in the crowd.

But Sehun stopped in his tracks as soon as he looked up and saw the one face he had been hoping to see tonight.

Despite not seeing him for six years, the man standing before him was undeniably Prince Jongin of Elyxion, almost six feet tall now and dressed elegantly in black silk and velvet with gorgeous gold trimming. With his strong jaw and expressive eyes, he always had the sort of face one could never truly forget, and now he had grown into his handsome features. Sehun's jaw must have dropped while staring at him because Jongin's eyes momentarily focused on his mouth, and then he met Sehun's gaze again with a quirk to his lips.

"Prince Sehun... you're all grown up now," were Jongin's first words to him. The chattering around them seemed to vanish, and suddenly the only thing Sehun could hear was Jongin's voice. It felt unreal, hearing him speak after all this time. He wanted to savor the sound of it.

"I wasn't going to stay a baby forever, Your Highness," Sehun replied, intentionally formal to balance his cheekiness.

Jongin huffed a laugh. "I'm pleased to know your sense of humor is the same as ever."

"I'm glad it pleases you, Jongin. For your information, I, for one, haven't changed much at all. I can't say the same for you, now can I?" He tried to say it proudly but his voice wobbled at the last part, giving away the vulnerability he had been trying to conceal. He averted his eyes, and his gaze subconsciously drifted to check if Jongin was wearing a ring. Their ring, or any ring. He wasn't.

Jongin caught onto it and frowned. "Sehun... I owe you an apology. I'm so sorry for disappearing like I did. But I promise you, you never once left my mind. Let me explain myself, please."

As hard as Sehun tried to act distant and unattainable, he was helpless to deny Jongin. Once he granted the prince some time to explain himself, then they could both move on from there. 

His mind ran through the myriad of possibilities of what Jongin could have to say, and the one he settled on was something so simple it almost made him laugh out loud for never having considered it before. 

Not once had Sehun considered that the moment Jongin realized Sehun loved him—truly loved him, he must have been frightened off. It was understandable. Jongin was too gracious and respectful a prince to ever do something out of spite. Perhaps, in his own way, he had been trying to save Sehun from the heartbreak. And ironically, that made Sehun adore him even more.

The only problem was Sehun hadn't moved on. There was never any closure that allowed him to.

He had tried, of course. There were other men, other princes he'd found attractive in some way, but then they'd be missing something else that only Jongin had. His warm smile that lit up the room. The dimples in his cheeks. His kind heart. The attentive way he looked at Sehun whenever he spoke that made Sehun feel loved.

No one else was ever enough.

Delayed mortification seeped into him like poison. How burdensome it must've been for Jongin, once he knew. He went along humoring their little engagement for Sehun's sake, until he realized it wasn't only for fun anymore. Not for Sehun. Did Jongin blame himself for leading him on? Or worse, did Jongin pity him? 

Tears welled up in Sehun's eyes, but stubbornly, he blinked them away. Here wasn't the place to cry, not in front of everyone in the grand hall during one of the most important events of his life. Grabbing Jongin's hand, he led the surprised prince out to the courtyard so they could have a moment away from prying eyes and ears. He could see his mother looking at him with a concerned look, but she seemed to understand that he needed to be alone with Jongin, and focused instead on telling the other guests Sehun would soon return.

Out in the night air, Sehun felt a sudden sense of calm, and clarity. The smell of jasmine from the gardens was heavy, and he felt Jongin squeeze his hand.

"I missed this place," Jongin said once he breathed in the air. He stopped and turned to Sehun. "I missed you."

Sehun scoffed. "I thought you forgot about me."

"Never. I—there was a reason I left." Jongin stopped, visibly struggling for the right words. "That night, that last time I visited. Do you remember?"

Sehun nodded. Of course he did, he had only relived that night in his head a thousand times to identify what he had done wrong enough to finally drive Jongin away. "I convinced you to go riding with me, even though we weren't allowed to take the horses out by ourselves, especially not in the dead of night." He couldn't help but smile at the memory. "You were so nervous that we'd get in trouble, but they never knew we were gone!"

"It was the most exciting night of my life. Every second I spent with you was," Jongin said, and there was something reverent in his tone that made it difficult for Sehun not to overthink his meaning.

"So why did you leave?" Sehun asked, his voice rising in a burst of anger that surprised even him. As of today he was a mature adult, and he had assumed this conversation would go calmly and smoothly, but Jongin had a tendency to elicit these strong emotions from him with his presence alone. He always had.

"Because I was going to kiss you that night," the prince replied in a rush of words that momentarily stunned Sehun into silence. 

"I don't believe you," he replied obstinately.

He remembers that night.

The guards were making their rounds, but Sehun knew their routes by heart, and they managed to creep back into Sehun's chambers without incident. To this day he's amazed none of the guards caught them, as they were both breathing heavily and giggling every so often from the excitement, surely making more noise than they intended.

As soon as they both calmed down, Jongin had announced he would return to his own guest quarters for the night. But Sehun secretly hated sleeping alone, so he had invited Jongin to sleep over in his chambers. The prince reluctantly accepted, and they stayed up to talk some more. But Sehun was exhausted from the day's activities, and it wasn't much longer before he drifted off to sleep, feeling safe with Jongin by his side.

"Even now I can remember the adrenaline rushing through my veins when we got back to the stables, and we had to sneak back into the palace," Jongin continued on, having expected Sehun's immediate denial as a response. "I always knew I cared for you, more than anyone else. You were my best friend," Jongin said softly. "But something shifted in me that night, something that made me appreciate how you were more than that, to me."

Indignantly, Sehun cried out, "You coward! You should've just kissed me then." He spent so long thinking up impossible scenarios where Jongin returned his feelings. Now that it was happening, it remained somehow like a faraway dream he couldn't touch for fear of it dissipating into thin air.

"I couldn't! It wouldn't have been appropriate," Jongin said resolutely. "I couldn't trust myself not to try and kiss you, whenever I was around you. It would've changed everything between us, and I didn't know how you felt for me. Well, I still don't. Although, you did just say I could've..."

"Oh sweet heavens," Sehun said with a heaving sigh. It was as tragic as it was comical how many years they spent second-guessing themselves. "Jongin, I proposed to you when we were seven. Was I not obvious enough?"

"Exactly, we were seven, Sehun. Neither of us knew what that truly meant! Once we got older, I thought maybe it became strange for you. But you kept your ring regardless, and then I understood it had simply become a symbol of our... friendship. Nothing more than that."

"Jongin." Sehun took the ring out of his pocket and showed it to him in his palm. "I have it with me now, and always. And between you and me," he said, stepping into Jongin's space, "you were the only person in the world I was hoping to see at my ceremony today."

"Oh," was all Jongin managed to say before Sehun kissed him.

When he drew back, Jongin had a spellbound expression that made Sehun feel like some kissing expert. "Oh goodness, Jongin—was that alright? I forgot to ask if you were—are you seeing anyone right now?" He hadn't stopped to consider that Jongin had been courting someone during their time apart.

"That was perfect." Jongin gave him his signature dimpled smile that made Sehun weak in the knees. "And no, I'm not seeing anyone. Sehun, I've been waiting to attend your ceremony to ask if I could court you officially." He began untying the first few strings on his shirt while Sehun got increasingly panicked at the expanse of tanned skin being revealed, until Jongin pulled out the necklace he was wearing underneath: a simple hemp string looped through the ring Sehun had gifted him. "I've kept you with me all this time. Now do you believe me?"

Sehun nodded as he reached out to touch Jongin's necklace, rolling the ring between his fingertips. "And, you have my permission."

The prince tilted Sehun's chin up to kiss him once more, startling him when this time, Jongin's tongue slid right into his mouth, wet and hot and astonishingly intimate. Even if they were alone in the garden the action felt... inappropriate outside of his bedchambers. 

Now he understood why Jongin had waited until today to kiss him. He couldn't imagine doing this when they were only thirteen, they never would have been able to stop! Perhaps all this waiting was a blessing in disguise, a test of their romantic propriety and commitment to one another. And as the saying went, the distance did serve to make their hearts grow fonder.

"A penny for your thoughts?" 

"Do you remember our promise back then?"

"Yes, Sehun. We promised each other forever, didn't we?"

Sehun recalled his mother's words all those years ago, how he hadn't wholly understood the concept of 'forever' as a child. Now, when he looked into Jongin's eyes, he was finally sure he knew.

They'd been apart long enough to be considered strangers, but they had a lifetime to fall in love all over again, in a thousand different ways.

"Forever," Sehun agreed.

There couldn't be anything more exciting than that.


End file.
